Bald eagle recuperating after being hit by golf ball over Fla. fairway

Stuart, FL - STUART, Fla. - A juvenile wild bald eagle accidentally hit by a golf ball last week over a nearby fairway is recuperating from surgery to repair a broken wing bone.

"We're very, very hopeful at this point," said Dan Martinelli, executive director of the Treasure Coast Wildlife Center in Palm City.

On Monday, the male eagle voluntarily ate its first meal: some fish. Now it is continuing to recuperate in a large cage that center officials approach quietly to avoid alarming the bird, preventing it from re-injuring the wing.

In two weeks, veterinarians will X-ray the fragile wing bone to see how it is healing.

"There is an excellent probability that it (the wing) will return to function" so the eagle can eventually be released back into the wild, he said.

The main unknown is whether the eagle will remain calm following a two-hour surgery on Friday at the All Creatures Animal Hospital in Stuart. Veterinarians Richard Bressman and Susan Clubb initially considered putting a pin in the bone, but it appeared to be too brittle. They instead put a splint on it, Martinelli said.

Now the bone has to heal naturally.

"It is a wild animal that you can't put in your lap and comfort," he said.

The seven-pound bird, that is assumed to be less than two years old, was flying March 30 across a fairway at the Sandridge Golf Course when a golfer hit a ball. They collided in mid-air, and the bird tumbled into a tree and then landed on the group.

It was eventually captured by Indian River Animal Control Director Jason Ogilvie. The golfer "felt bad and didn't want to be identified," Ogilvie said.